America as "the great Satan" (the thinking/belief behind the 9/11 and other attacks)

TODAY, WE LOOK AT ONLY THE FIVE DOMINANT GLOBAL VIEWS:

Atheistic/materialistic/scientistic/naturalistic

Buddhist

Confucian

Hindu

Semitic (Jewish, Christian & Muslim)

ATHEISTIC/MATERIALISTIC

Is relatively newto the world  the vast majority of people through history have always had a commitment to some sort of absolute (God, or the gods, or an impersonal principle such as Marxism (Scientific Materialism) or Yin-Yang or Brahman or Tao or whatever)

ATHEISTIC/MATERIALISTIC

Optimistic  we can make up our own meaning and purpose, and the meanings that people make up will and should be positive and humane (committed to social justice and environmental concern, for example)  but these optimists are then stunned by things like 9/11 or Hitler or Pol Pot or Watergate

Pessimistic

no meaning, so: eat, drink and be merry

no meaning, so: commit suicide

all meanings are determined by our genes or

all the meanings that are offered, whether historically or currently, are simply the result of a struggle by some group or the other to impose their will on the rest (so "we" may as well impose "our" will  e.g. the U.S. Supreme Court today)

APPROACH TO BUSINESS ATHEISTIC/MATERIALISTIC

Some atheists/materialists are therefore highly "moral" (that is, committed to certain principles, even if those principles are immoral from your point of view)

Others are "moral as long as it is convenient"

Yet others are only concerned about not getting caught

THE KEY POINT is that, on an atheistic basis, you cannot fault any of them: each of them has in fact constructed their own "meaning", "purpose or "philosophy"

BUDDHISM

Preoccupied with the question of suffering (we could say that different religions start with different questions, and are preoccupied with answering these different basic questions  e.g. Semitic and early Hindu (how can humans relate to God), post-Buddhist Hindu and Buddhist (suffering), Jain (is there a basic principle underlying the universe?), Confucian (how to organise society in as stable a way as possible?)

BUDDHISM:THE 3 ILLUSIONS THAT LIE AT THE ROOT OF SUFFERING

The world is real (that is why we grasp and aspire)

"You" and "I" are separate from each other and from the world (that is, our individuality is equally illusory)

Morality, meaning, and religion  which are all red herrings or diversions from the real solution, which is mystical "illumination" through meditation

"I seek the refuge of the Buddha, I seek the refuge of the Teachings, I seek the refuge of the Community (Monastery)"

THE 3 PATHS (SADHANA MARG) FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO "RELIGIOUS" GOALS

Shravak Yan: Learning meditation from an experienced teacher (Guru) and aiming to attain the state of 'Arhat' (having learned all the techniques).

Pratyekbuddha Yan: Gaining independence from the guru, meditating alone to achieve Bodhior 'Parmarth Jnana' (knowledge of eternal truth) and free himself from all miseries and sorrows. Does not involve reaching out to the multitudes to impart knowledge or to encourage them on the path of Boddhimarga. Indifferent to preaching or to Bahariya (external) Karma.

Boddhisattva Yan: Aiming both to attain Bodhiand to encourage others to follow the similar path for their emancipation:

"I shall enlighten myself and also help others to emancipate and enlighten themselves. I shall attain salvation and help others in their liberation. I shall cross this ocean of miseries (mundane or ordinary life) and help others to do so."

IF EVERYONE WANTS TO BECOME A MONK, SOCIETY WILL COLLAPSE  THERE WILL BE NO ONE TO GIVE ALMS TO THE MONKS!

So what about "ordinary" people who do not want to become monks???

A LAY FOLLOWER SHOULD

Acquire wealth only by legal means, without violence, honestly, in ways which do not harm others

Spend it to provide for one’s own household, one’s relatives and children; to make gifts to friends, to entertain them, to give them presents; to protect and repair one’s property and dwelling; to pay taxes and make obeisance to the deities; to offer alms and requisites to the monks and priests

THE BUDDHA'S ADVICE TO A GROUP OF LAY PEOPLE

Be energetic and diligent in performing your job

Take care of your wealth

Associate with true friends, wise and virtuous people who will help you and protect you, and guide you in the path of morality and religion

Don't be too bountiful, spending more than your means allow, but don't be niggardly either, clinging to your wealth. Avoid these extremes and spend in proportion to your income

THE BUDDHA'S ECONOMIC ADVICE TO GOVERNMENTS

(as enunciated by Bhikkhu Bodhi)

For a people to be capable of personal and spiritual progress, the economic foundation has to be secure: poverty can lead to the decline of moral values  to stealing, lying, murder, etc., and eventually to complete social chaos

Therefore, government has a responsibility to correct any extreme economic injustice. Kings should give seed to the farmers for their crops and feed for their cattle, capital to the merchants and businessman to conduct their business, jobs to the civil servants, and so on

IN GENERAL

Everyone should practice giving, and be generous. The wealthy in particular have an obligation to give to the poor, to help and assist the poor

The things that can be given have been minutely classified as follows: Food, Clothing, Dwelling places, Medicine; Vehicles, Books, Utensils, lights, seats etc.

MODERN WESTERN DILUTIONS OF BUDDHISM:

Geshe Michael Roach

The first American to complete the 20 years of study and examinations required to become ageshe, or master of Buddhist learning

The business principles outlined in the book can be briefly summarized as: "developing compassion with and for all people"

"If you feel connected with everyone, you will never be alone" (!!!)

MODERN WESTERN DILUTIONS OF BUDDHISM:

Jim Schaffer

Slow Down (versus Speeding Up)

Surrender (versus Taking Control)

Your Natural Rhythm (versus Time Management)

Present Moment Focus (versus Extensive Planning)

Plateau and Rise (versus Constant Rise); Stop striving

Hi-touch (versus Hi-Tech) relationships still drive the world

Non-judgment (versus Constant Judgment)

Beginner’s Mind (versus Being an Expert)

Focus on "Being" (versus Focus on "Having")

Intuition & Trust in People (versus Strategy, Tactics, Technique)

CONFUCIAN  SOCIAL

Li: respect (including religious ritual)

Hsiao: family love (the centre of life)

Yi: mutual commitment & reciprocity among friends

Jen: "all the good things that happen when people meet;" wishing others well  welcoming the stranger  hospitality

in which of the four stages of life you are (student, householder, retirement, renunciation)

INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM

Brahmin  priests

Kshatriya  warriors/administrators

Vaishya  artisans AND BUSINESS PEOPLE

Shudra  menial workers

(outcaste)

COMPARING BUDDHIST, CONFUCIAN AND HINDU

Buddhist and Confucian: universalHindu: caste-based

All are concerned primarily to maintain the social order

Buddhist and Hindu make meditation and withdrawal from the world a "superior" virtue

None has anything "more than commonsense" to say about business (the Hindu sanctions a "total free market" to the business caste!!!)

JUDAISM  MOSES

The minimum distinctive

Describing each world view (not criticising it!)

So that we are comparing the best of each with the best of the other, and not the worst of one with the best of another!

JUDAISM

The Ten Commandments (PLUS )

"Have a character like Mine," says God; "be like me  like I am revealing myself to you  justice, mercy "

ISLAM

The Five Pillars

Shahada: the Muslim profession of faith, to be said on waking and sleeping: "I witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah"

Salat: the rather precise prayer ritual to be performed 5 times a day by all Muslims over the age of 10, possibly individually but preferably communally:

Between first light and sunrise

After the sun has passed the middle of the sky

Between mid-afternoon and sunset

Between sunset and the last light of the day

Between darkness and dawn

Sawm: Abstaining each day during Ramadan, the 9th Muslim month, not only from food but from all bodily pleasures between dawn and sunset

Zakat: Giving alms to the poor. Minimum of 2.5% of one's savings each year, plus anything else voluntarily (Judaism has 10% of incomeas the minimum  carried over into Christianity of course)

Hajj: The pilgrimage to Mecca that all physically able Muslims should make at least once in their life. Mecca is the most holy place for Muslims

COMPARING JUDAISM & ISLAM

Very similar!  belief in God, prayer, philanthropy

One key difference: the principles of life/business for Hebrews/Jews arise from the character of their God (are necessarily consonant or in line with God and with reality), the five pillars arise from the will of the Muslim God (are arbitrary)

CHRIST THE LORD

REVOLUTIONARY LOVE

He modelled it we can do it only if He comes to live within us (He wants to and is waiting to )

There is a body of believers with whom followers are to work to transform the world & business

USURY

(Earning money by charging a "rent" on money)

Forbidden in Islam and Judaism as well as in Christianity

Though the Roman Catholic Church rescinded the ban in the 12th century, and Lutherans and Calvinists followed

However, some of force of the ban on usury continued (interest rates on private borrowing were kept low) till the 1950s, when Evolution-by-Chance was preferred by the Western elites

SEMITIC

(Moses/Mohammad/Christ)

Universal (applies to all)

Absolute (in theory, no concessions are possible; in fact, one recognises the impossibility of doing/being some of these things, but that is always regarded as "sinful" or "wrong")

From an ethical point of view the world now exists in a multiple tension between:

traditional Judeo-Christian values

thorough pragmatism/unethical materialism

reviving fundamentalist values among Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and other communities belonging to New and Fringe Religions

From the viewpoint of international business, the world exhibits a tension between:

a Shareholder view of the purpose of companies and those who have the Stakeholder view of the purpose of companies, or

between those who take the broadly christian-moral-humanist position and those who take the bottom-line materialist position

CROSS-CULTURAL VIEWS

Task Cultures vs. Relationship Cultures

Cultures built on Absolutes versus Cultures built on Relativism

as cultures lose belief in their Absolute, they also lose cultural cohesion, producing sub-cultures that are mutually uncomprehending andopposed to each other  as is happening in theUSA today

Guilt Cultures vs. Shame Cultures:

proportionate penalties vs. token/disappropriate

"pay and go free" vs. "a black face"

THERE IS AN EMERGING INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCE OF BIBLICAL ETHICS

Something in the human heart recognises what is right, regardless of the system of belief in which one is brought up

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

The first Prime Minister of India

"I am a Hindu by birth,a Buddhist by philosophy,a Muslim by culture,and a Christian in ethics"

listen

Share Episode

Shortened URL

Guests

is Director of Executive and Organizational Development at the Wolfsberg Centre, a subsidiary of UBS of Switzerland. He writes and lectures about issues at the intersection of business practices, religious worldviews, and ethics.